WELCOME ELDER BLETTENBERG 5/14

Sometimes we are "reassigned" a missionary who was originally assigned to a different mission.  We always find out why they were supposed to be in this mission instead!

Elder Blettenberg was recently reassigned to our mission after having ongoing health concerns while in the Provo MTC headed for Mexico.

It has been a long road for him to get healthy, but here he is in the greatest mission for him!!! ARIZONA PHOENIX!!

 It is hard for the missionaries who are sent in between transfers to come alone, so we really admire him for being patient with just having President Taylor and myself as company for his first day in the mission.
We picked him up and took him to the Phoenix Temple on our way home to the Mission Home.
He got a personal tour at the little visitor center in the Church near the temple site.  It was warm this day, especially for someone from Declo Idaho!

 We kept Elder Blettenberg with us overnight, got him trained by the Assistants and interviewed by President while I was out with Sister missionaries for the evening.  We trained a bit in the Mission Handbook before bedtime.

The next day, he was up with us bright and early to run with the Assistants and us, to eat breakfast and to get ready to meet his trainers.

Above you see him reading his letter written to him by a former APM missionary welcoming him to the best mission on earth...and giving him some good advice!

We took a photo of him with us by the great Pineapple Date Palm in the front yard...a mission tradition!

 Then we drove him down to the Goodyear Stake to meet his district of missionaries for their weekly meeting.

Sisters Franz and Beazer, Elders Blettenberg Madsen, Johnston, Yoxtheimer and Graybill.

We introduced him to his new trainers, Elders Madsen and Johnston, two of our best young missionaries!

WELCOME ELDER BLETTENBERG,
YOU ARE HOME IN THE ARIZONA PHOENIX MISSION!!!